Leadership

DISRUPT brings together multidisciplinary teams from four New York City institutions, Mount Sinai’s Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI), Columbia’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC), Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center (MECC) and The City College of New York (CCNY).

These cancer centers are charged with reducing cancer disparities that affect approximately two million people residing in some of the most diverse and underserved communities in the United States.

Dr. Nina Bickell

MD, MPH

Project Leader

Nina Bickell, MD, MPH, has spent the past 20 years focusing on underlying reasons for disparities in the quality of cancer care many BIPOC patients get and designing different approaches to improve their cancer care. Dr. Bickell is a member of the senior leadership team at The Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI).

Bruce D. Rapkin

Ph.D

Team Principal

My research focuses on building community-academic partnerships that can reduce barriers and improve standard of care.

Dr. Grace Hillyer

EdD

Co-investigator

Dr. Hillyer’s expertise lies in the applied use of behavioral theory to investigate multilevel
psychological, social, and cultural factors impacting health behavior among underrepresented
and underserved populations and the application of mixed research methodology to construct
and implement tailored educational interventions.

Dr. Karen Hubbard

Ph.D

Project Co-Leader

Dr. Hubbard is a molecular biologist who studies gene expression during cellular aging. Her research focuses on RNA metabolism during aging and the relationship between cell death (apoptosis) and aging.

Mary Beth Terry

Ph.D

Team Principal

Mary Beth Terry, PhD, focuses her research on environmental modifiers of cancer risk. She is the Director of Community Outreach and Engagement with the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She has spent over 20 years leading studies of cancer risk reduction in local communities and around the world.

Dr. Parisa Tehranifar

DrPH

Columbia Co-investigator

Parisa Tehranifar, DrPH is a cancer epidemiologist and health disparities researcher. Her research focuses on improving the implementation of breast cancer screening and prevention in racially and ethnically diverse, immigrant and underserved communities.